Trio of Top 60 Commitments

Vargas, Czyz and Landesberg commit in whirlwind 24-hour period

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Sept. 27, 2007

By Van Coleman

CSTV.com & Hoopmasters.com

 



 Van Coleman

Van is one of the nation's premier recruiting experts.
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It was an unusual day, to say the least, as three top 60 talents made commitments during the past 24 hours. To have this many high-level recruits making decisions on the same day is definitely not the norm.

 

It will definitely send a little message of urgency to a number of recruits taking visits this weekend, so we'll have to watch whether there is a domino effect or not. In the meantime, let's look at today's trifecta of commitments.

 

Up first is the commitment of our No. 17-rated senior Eloy Vargas from American Heritage School in Plantation, Fla., who is now headed up the Peninsula to Gainesville and the Florida Gators.

 

We caught up with Team Breakdown director Kenny Gillion this morning and he confirmed that his talented 6-foot-10 big man had indeed committed to the Gators.

 

"Eloy Vargas made his college decision late last night and he's headed to Florida," Gillion told CSTV.com. "He hadn't plan on making an early decision, but Coach Donovan and his staff really worked him hard. He just felt right after visiting Gainesville."

 

Vargas' high school coach, Danny Herz, agreed that Florida had done a great job recruiting him.

 

"When Billy comes in hard he's tough to beat," Herz said. "No matter whether he went to Pittsburgh, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), or Florida State, he was going to a great school, with great coaches.

 

"But the Gators have put eight guys in the NBA over the last two years and [won] two national titles. Plus, his buddies are there. It was just the right fit."

 

"He's a skilled four man, who can go inside-out," Herz continued. "He's made himself an elite player with hard work and a drive to become the best player at his position in his class."

 

We agree that Vargas has been stellar all spring and summer. He really blew up moving into the top 20 nationally. He did it by developing a real low post game to go with his ability to score from the perimeter. He added strength, too, and has become an aggressive rebounder.

 

He should be a good fit to play alongside his fellow recruits, Kenneth Kadji, a 6-foot-10 low post prospect, and 6-foot-9 forward Allen Chaney. When you team them with backcourt commits Ray Shipman and Erving Walker it should give Gators a second straight top five class.

 

Vargas, Kadji, and Chaney will combine with this year's incoming frontcourt freshmen, Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons, to give Billy Donovan's Gators a deep frontcourt that can mount a charge toward another Final Four appearance.

 

The second player to commit Wednesday night was 6-foot-8 combo forward Olek Czyz, our No. 56-rated senior from Reno High, who decided to commit to the Duke Blue Devils.

 

"He had a choice to play for Coach K or Coach Pitino," said Anthony Brown, Czyz's Las Vegas Prospects summer coach. "So there was no way he could lose, but he just felt more comfortable with Duke, its staff and players after visiting the campus in Durham."

 

Reno coach Kyle Schellin agreed he couldn't go wrong, but said it was Coach K's vision for Olek that made the difference in the end.

 

"Duke is a great fit for Olek," Schellin said. "He just felt that Coach K had a better vision for him, in what would make him the best player he could be.

 

"The decision was really tough as their wasn't much of a difference in Olek's eyes between the two schools, but I know it took a lot of pressure off to make his choice, as he smiled last night for the first time in about two months. He's really a competitor, and now with the recruiting pressure off, he can get back to work.  He's a kid who wants to be the best he can."

 

Czyz really burst onto the national scene this summer with great performances at the Arizona Cactus Classic, Pangos All-American and Reebok U Camps. He was an absolute beast on the glass and dominated the paint on both ends of the court. He has a 40-inch vertical and used it to block shots and create highlights. But he really raised his stock when he stepped to the perimeter and knocked down elbow jumper and exploded to hoop off the dribble.

 

"He was under the radar because he played behind, or in a rotation that included Craig Brackins and Luke Babbit prior to this year," Brown explained. "But this spring he was our go-to guy and he stepped up and showed what he is capable of. We knew he could do it. This year, he proved it."

 

He is the first commitment this fall for the Blue Devils, and he will mesh well with last year's front court additions, Kyle Singler and Taylor King, as another interchangeable part in Duke's offense. He plays strong defense, too, so Coach K will be smiling, that's for sure.

 

The Blue Devils are still in the hunt for two of 2008's best in 6-foot-11 Greg Monroe (who'll cut his list to five or six schools on Friday) and 6-foot-4 scoring combo Elliott Williams, who'll visit home state schools Memphis and Tennessee the first two weekends in October.

 

The school that had the worse day was Louisville, as the Cardinals came in second on Czyz and were one of the top five with Vargas. It's the reality of recruiting that days like this are inevitable, but don't feel too sorry for the Cardinals, as they already have Samardo Samuels in the fold and are still in the hunt with 6-foot-11 J'Mison Morgan, Greg Monroe, 6-foot-8 Dan Jennings, and 6-foot-8 Lance Goulbourne, as well as top-notch wing men Mookie Jones and Jared Swopshire. Rick Pitino and his staff will bounce back this fall.

 

The third and latest decision comes from our No. 37-rated senior Sylvan Landesberg from Holy Cross (Flushing, N.Y.), who committed to Virginia at a press conference this afternoon at his high school. He called us shortly after committing.

 

"I was just more comfortable with the Virginia players and staff," Landesberg told CSTV.com. "It was a really tough decision. I really liked all three schools and their players, but I felt that Virginia was the school where I could be the most comfortable."

 

His coach, Paul Gilvary, agreed with how tough the decision was for Sylvan.

 

"I've had a lot of players make college decisions," Gilvary said, "but I don't ever remember one that agonized with his decision as much as Sylvan. It was really a tough one for him."

 

Landesberg is a smooth combo-type guard who has the tools to finish off the dribble or make the pass to the open man. He hits the perimeter jumper with consistency and wants the ball when game is on the line. He's dedicated to becoming one of the nation's best guards according to his coach.

 

"He's a unique kid, as all the accolades haven't changed him," Gilvary explained. "He doesn't think he's reached his potential and has the goal to be great with his work ethic. He still has tremendous upside and his best playing days are still ahead of him."

 

That should definitely make Dave Leitao smile, as the commitment of Landesburg is the first for the Cavaliers and softens the loss of Ed Davis earlier this fall. 

 

The school who may have felt the loss of Landesberg the most may be St. John's as the Red Storm was rumored to be the leader before Landesberg visited the Virginia campus. He was considered the Johnnies' top target this fall.

 

Norm Roberts and his staff will have to put the full court press on 6-foot-6 Mookie Jones, another New York City area prep with that special something to make an immediate impact in the Big East. But they will face some tough competition from the likes of Syracuse, Louisville and Rutgers.

 

We'll continue to follow Jones and all the rest of the commits from the Top 100 prospects across the country as we continue to move closer to the November signing period, right here at "Generation Next."

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